


Out of the Blue

by kay_emm_gee



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: 5+1 Things, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/F, Falling In Love, Fluff, Fraternities & Sororities, Roommates
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-04
Updated: 2015-09-04
Packaged: 2018-04-18 22:31:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,635
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4722770
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kay_emm_gee/pseuds/kay_emm_gee
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Raven Reyes was looking at her with raised eyebrows, a bucket of books in her arms, a backpack slung over one shoulder, and a duffle bag at her feet.</p>
<p>“That’s nice of you, taking the shittier side of the room," she said. "I’ll remember that.”</p>
<p>Clarke gaped, wondering how she ended up rooming with the one girl she thought would never want to see her again.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>{Or, five times Raven surprised Clarke + 1 time it was the other way around}</p>
            </blockquote>





	Out of the Blue

**i. hey there roomie**

Clarke flopped down on her half-made bed, her muscles aching. It was tiresome moving her stuff into the Alpha Rho Kappa house. She almost wished she had taken her mother and Marcus up on their offer to help her, but no, she had to be independent and do it all herself: packing up her beat-up Toyota that she bought herself last summer, driving all the way back to Polis U for sophomore year, lugging all of her things up to her second-floor room.

She hoped her roommate didn’t need help because she, and her limbs, were practically useless at this point.

Absently, Clarke wondered who she would be living with. Alpha Rho was trying something new this year, withholding new members’ roommate names until they actually moved in, something about bonding and not judging a book, blah blah. There wasn’t anybody in her pledge class that she hadn’t gotten along with, so it should be fine whomever it ended up being. She sort of hoped it would be Octavia, but really, she wasn’t picky. 

It was a bit warm, the last of the summer heat blowing in on a soft breeze coming through the small, open window separating the two sides of the room. Yawning, Clarke fought off drowsiness, not wanting to be asleep when her roommate arrived. Still, her eyelids fluttered closed, and she sunk into her mattress regardless.

When the door banged open, she bolted up, sleepiness blurring her vision. It did finally clear, though, revealing a familiar face, one that Clarke never had expected to see again.

Raven Reyes was looking at her with raised eyebrows, a bucket of books in her arms, a backpack slung over one shoulder, and a duffle bag at her feet.

“That’s nice of you, taking the shittier side of the room. I’ll remember that.”

With numbness in her chest, Clarke watched the girl lurch over to her bed and topple all of her things haphazardly onto the mattress. Then Raven spun around, leaning on the frame post, and crossed her arms over her chest.

Speechless, Clarke tried to come up with something to say, but the last time they had spoken, Raven had been screaming at her, and then at Finn when she had realized what was really going on. And now they were roommates.

“How?” Clarke finally spluttered out.

“My mom was Alpha Rho.” Raven shrugged. “I didn’t want to pledge last year, not interested in the least, especially with my major, but then I got screwed out of housing this year and I can’t afford my own place. So I cashed in my legacy card. Boom, instant admission.”

The way Raven was fidgeting, running her hand over her high ponytail repeatedly, told Clarke there was more. Narrowing her eyes, she shifted forward, bracing her hands on her knees. “I’m assuming it’s not a coincidence we’re roommates,” she said slowly.

A corner of Raven’s mouth quirked upwards. “Finn always did like smart girls.”

Clarke winced. “No offense, but I really don’t want that hanging over my head this whole year, if that’s your plan.”

Shoulders dropping, Raven stared at her boot-clad feet, before glancing back up at Clarke. “Sorry. That wasn’t really fair.” She sighed, then cracked her neck before sitting down on the bed, lacing and unlacing her fingers together.

“Yeah, I happened to see your name on the rooming sheet and asked to be placed with you. And not because I wanted to torment you. Far from it. I don’t know anyone from our pledge class, and to be honest, this whole sorority business isn’t really my thing, and I guess I at least know you. Sort of.” 

Raven shrugged uncomfortably, her hands twisting even faster than before. Then, as if sensing how apparent her anxiety was, she glared at Clarke, as if daring her to comment.

Clarke tried to hid a smile but couldn’t. Before Raven’s expression could darken any further, though, she offered, “You went with the devil you know than one you didn’t.” She paused, weighing the prudency of her next words, then decided to go for it. Raven seemed like she could handle it. “Finn did always like smart girls, after all.”

Raven’s face went completely blank for a heart-stopping minute, but then she broke out into a loud laughter, high and surprisingly bubbly for someone so intense. It buoyed Clarke’s spirits, making her warm all over.

“Okay, I may actually end up liking you,” Raven joked.

“And if I offer to help you unpack?” Clarke offered, rising up off her bed, even as her muscle ached in protest.

“Wouldn’t hurt your chances.”

Snorting, Clarke turned around and rummaged around in the mini-fridge she had set up, pulling out two beers. She popped the tops and handed one off to Raven.

“You sure know how to win a girl over, Griffin,” Raven said with the rim of the bottle at her lips, which were tugging up into a wry smile.

Clarke watched as she took a sip, her throat going dry. Not liking the way her chest tightened at the sight, she took a long swig of her own drink.

“So are we friends yet?” She rasped when she had chugged practically half of her beer because she was suddenly very thirsty.

Raven tapped her drink against her leg twice, considering Clarke carefully. Then she shrugged and held out the bottom of her bottle. “Sure.”

Hoping her relieved sigh wasn’t audible, she clinked her bottle against Raven’s. “Good. This year is going to be significantly less awkward now.”

Raven chuckled, then set her drink down before heading for the door. Clarke watched her walk out, all long legs and sleek, swishing hair, and before she knew it, Raven was out of view.

“You coming?” She called out, and Clarke scrambled for the hall, still a little bit in shock from the turn of events, but she couldn’t say she was unhappy about it.

Sophomore year might turn out to not be such of a slump after all.

* * *

**ii. no surrender**

“All clear,” Clarke breathed, daring to peer around the corner of the hallway one more time.

“Then let’s go,” Raven hissed.

Nerf guns raised, they sped quietly down the hall. The normally cheerful house was surprisingly creepy in the dark, though it probably didn’t help that they were expecting to be ambushed from the shadows by another team of their sisters at any second.

So far, Clarke hadn’t been super enthusiastic about the activities that had been planned for them this fall—there was a painfully memorable garden party that had only been manageable because Raven had spiked their tea with gin—but this tag-team event was actually fun. Especially because she and Raven were winning.

Raven was a natural at tactical maneuvers, and Clarke had already set a reminder on her phone to call Marcus and thank him for taking her to the shooting range in high school. So far they had taken out five teams, and from the Anya’s announcement fifteen minutes ago, there were only two additional pairings left in the running.

A sudden rustling had Clarke pausing, and she threw up her hand in silent signal. Raven stopped just in time but was still close enough that Clarke could feel her breath on the back of her neck. She shivered, and Raven leaned over her shoulder.

“What is it?” Raven whispered.

Turning her head, which was so very close to her roommate’s, Clarke grimaced and pointed at the bathroom door. There was definitely a team in there, but no doubt just walking in would get them taken out, easily. Wrinkling her nose, Raven pulled back, drumming her fingers on the handle of her gun. Clarke watched her pacing, thinking, and she kept quiet, knowing her friend’s brilliant brain was puzzling out a solution.

She smiled when Raven’s eyes narrowed on the utility closet two doors down, her face lighting up.

“Any way you’d be fast enough to take out two on your own?” Raven asked excitedly.

“I can be if you need me to,” Clarke promised.

“Then trust me. You’ll know when to bust inside and shoot.”

Nodding, Clarke posted herself outside the bathroom door, their victims still none the wiser to their presence. She watched Raven disappear into the utility closet. The minutes ticked by, and Clarke heard a clink and a clunk, and then a faint, gleeful whisper:  _boom_.

Screams echoed from inside the bathroom, along with the sudden spray of water and the violent flushing of toilets. Immediately, Clarke slid open the door, gun raised, taking out a flustered Harper and a flabbergasted Monroe, both of whom were standing in the middle of the bathroom, completely soaked.

Raven was waiting with a raised hand when Clarke exited, grinning as she slapped it in a high-five.

“Engineering major for the win,” Raven gloated, shimmying in triumph.

“I totally agree, but it was kind of noisy,” Clarke said reluctantly. “We still have one more team to take out.”

With a fond roll of her eyes, Raven scoffed, “ _Hurry up and win_. So predictable, Clarke.”

Before Clarke could reply, though, Raven shoved her. “Down!”

Without much choice, Clarke dropped to the floor, scrambling for a better grip on her gun. Her finger landed on the trigger just as she saw Raven take out Fox. Octavia was right behind her, though, aiming her gun straight at Raven. With a grunt, Clarke twisted and shot upwards, nailing Octavia right in the stomach.

“Thanks,” Raven huffed, leaning against the wall, recovering.

Clarke laughed quietly. “Anytime.”

They both breathed for a minute, gazes locked, until Raven stuck out her hand. Grasping it tightly, Clarke let her pull her up, not quite taking her palm away even after she was standing.

“Game’s not over yet,” Anya taunted, coming up the stairway at the end of the hall, clipboard between her hands.

“What do you mean?” Clarke asked warily, wiping her sweaty hand on her pants. Their president so far seemed a little too bent on adding a twist to every event, which was turning out to be exhausting. For once, she just wanted it to be simple.

“You’ve each won a pass on cleaning up after a party, as promised, but if you want to be exempt from cleanup for a whole semester, you have that option too.”

“What’s the catch?” Raven asked immediately.

“Shoot your partner.”

Startled, Clarke looked at Raven, who scoffed.

“Very unoriginal. That is some Hunger Games shit right there,” she muttered, then dropped her gun and folded her arms, glaring at Anya defiantly. Her instantaneous loyalty took Clarke off-guard for half a second, but then, without another thought, she did the same.

“I’m impressed,” their president murmured, sharp eyes daring between them as her lips tugged up into a thin smile. “Sisters to the end.”

“Damn straight,” Raven said smugly, sending a pleased but also soft glance at Clarke.

A cheer went up from down the hall, where their sisters had evidently been gathering to watch the exchange. It startled Clarke, who had been focused on how intently Raven was staring at her. Their friends soon surrounded them, though, distracting her as they chattered about how great the night had been.

“Just so you know, I love you, but I totally would’ve taken the deal,” Monroe said to Harper. “I  _hate_  housework.”

“Just so you know, I would’ve done the same,” Harper said, lightly punching her roommate in the shoulder.

Monroe laughed and slung her arm around Harper, who grinned. Octavia just gave Fox a hug, reassuring her she never would’ve done that, which had Fox smiling shyly.

Soon enough, the girls meandered downstairs, ready to settle down a bit. Raven hung back though, and so Clarke did the same.

“Some real loyalty there, Clarke,” Raven said, knocking their hips together. “Taking that whole sisters thing to heart, are we?”

It was almost one in the morning, and Clarke didn’t know if she was really hearing the coy curiosity in Raven’s voice, or if that was the lateness warping her tone. So she just shrugged.

“Don’t you know? I’d always pick you first,” she replied, letting her voice balance on the edge between teasing and honest.

Her pulse jumped when Raven clasped her hand and squeezed, an earnest acknowledgement of her words. “Thanks,” she whispered, then tugged her down the stairs. “Let’s go celebrate.”

Clarke followed, not letting go until they reached the bottom, when the soft glow of the living room lights brought them out of the darkness.

* * *

**iii. red cheeks and green eyes**

Walking into their room, Clarke was greeted by the sight of Raven’s bare back, dark hair tumbling down over it, and a pair of hairy legs and large feet.

“Shit,” she said, closing her eyes as she fumbled out of the room. Pretend as much as she wanted, though, she didn’t think she’d ever get the sight of her mostly naked roommate straddling a guy on her bed out of her head for a long time. 

She heard Raven’s laugh, joined by a deep one.

“Do you need anything?” Raven yelled.

“My genetics notebook,” Clarke called back faintly.

There was more giggling, then some shuffling, and the door jerked open a few inches.

“Sorry,” Raven breathed, a deep flushing staining her cheeks, extending down her neck, disappearing beneath the loose collar of a shirt that definitely was not hers. “I thought you had class now.”

“I do. I’m late,” Clarke said, her tone more clipped than she intended.

Raven’s happy expression slipped as she handed over the notebook. “I’m really sorry.”

“It’s fine,” Clarke said, flexing her lips in what she hoped resembled a smile. “I’ll go study in the library after class so you have some more time.”

“You don’t have to—”

“Have fun, Raven.” Her voice at least sounded sincere that time, and she turned, because she really was late for class.

Still, as Clarke walked away, tension crept up in her shoulders that she knew had nothing to do with how heavy her backpack was.

The tension didn’t go away, not even when, a week later, she brought Lexa back to her room on the afternoon she knew Raven had a cancelled class.

After Raven breezed in, saw them, and then breezed back out, swearing in between apologies, her back rigid as she retreated, Clarke flopped back onto the bed, staring at the ceiling.

“Did that make you feel better?” Lexa asked, tracing absent circles on Clarke’s bare stomach.

Clarke glanced at her, grimacing. Of course this girl wouldn’t miss a thing.

“No,” she answered, figuring she could at least answer honestly.

Lexa laughed. “I know something that might,” she whispered, swinging her leg back over Clarke, honey-colored hair falling around them like a curtain. She leaned down, lips hovering over her mouth, waiting.

Clarke sighed. She was in love with her roommate, and she couldn’t do anything about it, so what was the harm in having some fun in the meantime?

Surging up, she met Lexa halfway, enjoying the way her stomach flipped at the softness of her lips.  _Fun_ , Clarke thought,  _I can have fun._

Her stomach clenched in an entirely different way much later that night, though, when in the dark, Raven slipped back into their room without saying a word, and then the next morning, when she shuffled about, still silent.

They finally spoke again after two days of awkwardness, when Raven told her she made a door hanger as a signal so they wouldn’t have ‘ _mid-fuck walk-in’_  problems again.

Clarke shrugged. “Lexa was a one-time thing, so no worries on that front for me. But I’m all for you using it, if you need to.”

Raven looked away, staring at her computer screen. “Wick was damn good, but I’m too busy to get distracted, especially since he and I are lab partners. Maybe next semester, though his ego and he are a package deal, and I’m not sold on that particular threesome.”

Clarke laughed softly, and then quiet fell over their room again. It was comfortable this time, though, an easy silence, one punctuated by the click of Raven’s keyboard and her own pencil strokes across her sketchpad.

A smile crept onto Clarke’s face, and when she chanced a quick look over at the other side of the room, Raven wore a matching one, a sight that had her cheeks warming in satisfaction.

* * *

**iv. call me ~~maybe~~  always**

When Raven’s name popped up on her phone screen, Clarke immediately answered the call. She hadn’t heard from her all spring break. Granted, it had only been five days since they left campus, but it felt like longer, and the remaining eleven days until they returned seemed even more daunting.

“Hey stranger,” she teased.  

“How do you feel about hospitals?”

“Considering I basically grew up in one? Just fine,” Clarke said warily. “Why?”

“Wanna come visit me? The TV reception is shitty and the nurses are terrible conversationalists.”

Clarke waited a beat, struggling to keep her voice calm. “What the hell happened, Raven?”

“Remember how you always warned me about motorcycles being dangerous?”

“Oh no.”

“Oh yeah. Some asshole with greasy hair and an attitude problem hit me out of nowhere. Screwed up my leg real bad.” Her voice broke on the last few words, vulnerable in very unfamiliar way for her.

“Fuck,” Clarke breathed, a tingling burn starting at the corner of her eyes.

“Clarke.”

“Clarke.”

“Christ, are you there?”

“I’m coming,” Clarke reassured her, scrambling for her purse and keys. “I’m coming right now. What hospital?”

Clarke was out the door before Raven finished her reply, practically flying to her car. She sped all the way there, which was probably inappropriate given the circumstances, but she didn’t quite care, especially since she made it to Mt. Weather Hospital in less than two hours.

“I guess I should listen to you more often, huh?” Raven said with a trembling smile when Clarke strode into her room.

Taking in her abnormally pale face and the large brace on her leg, Clarke sucked in a deep breath before replying, “Agreeing at the moment would make me feel like a huge bitch.”

Raven let out a watery laugh. “I can take it.”

“I have no doubt,” Clarke murmured as she sank into a seat beside her.

Raven’s hand, which was at the edge of the bed, twitched, a silent, almost unconscious question. Mustering up a smile, Clarke took her hand, locking their fingers together. She stroked her thumb across the underside of her wrist, then squeezed tightly.

“You should’ve called me sooner.”

Raven huffed. “I knew you’d say that.” She paused, her dark eyes flicking towards Clarke briefly, hesitantly, then back at the opposite wall. “I’m going to need a lot of rehab.”

“I already had my mom call your physician. She got you into a great center near school, and I put myself down as your emergency contact, so I’ll go with you to the appointments.”

Raven snapped her attention back to Clarke, stunned.

“Too much?” Clarke asked, suddenly self-conscious.

Choking out a laugh, Raven rubbed at her eyes, which were glistening. “I might have said yes under different circumstances, except my leg is pretty fucked and I’ll take all the help I can get at this point.”

Clarke squeezed her hand again, knowing how that admission would never have passed through Raven’s lips a few months ago.

Nestling her head into her pillow, Raven looked at Clarke for a long moment then scooted away from her, though she kept their hands together.

“Get up here,” she grumbled. “I know you’re holding back the hugs for my sake.”

With a grin, Clarke hopped up into the bed, wiggling down and then turning on her side, face to face with Raven.

“No more motorcycles,” she intoned in mock scolding, her face pinched.

“Fuck you,” Raven muttered, her eyes fluttering closed, a sign that she was more exhausted then she let on.

“Fuck you too,” Clarke murmured back, gently wrapping an arm around her middle. With a sigh, Raven relaxed into her, fingers toying absently with the ends of her hair.

It wasn’t long before she fell asleep, but Clarke stayed wide-awake, content to just listen to her soft breathing.

* * *

**v. pick me, choose me**

Clarke walked into the foyer of the Alpha Rho house, flicked on the light, and screamed.

Her shout, however, was drowned out by the excited yells of her sisters, who were storming her, ready for hugs. By the time she felt the fifth pair of arms embrace her, her eyes landed on the banner that read “Congratulations, Dr. Griffin.”

“Raven!” Clarke called out. “You told them?”

“Like I was going to let you keep the news to myself?” Raven piped up from behind her, hand on her cocked hip, smiling deviously.

Rolling her eyes, Clarke sighed. It wasn’t like she had planned on keeping her admission to Polis U’s early acceptance program for its medical school a secret, but she hadn’t quite decided to check the ‘yes’ box on the reply form. Her art was more rewarding than her science studies at the moment, pulling her in a different, unexpected direction. Classes wouldn’t last forever, though. She could be out there, helping people, healing them, and was she really going to let a few years of boring courses stand between her and a career she knew she would love?

It would be harder to turn it down too, now that her entire house knew, but she couldn’t really fault Raven, who was grinning at her happily as she trudged towards her, showing off her remarkably good balance for less than two months of rehab. 

“Remind me: why are we friends?” Clarke asked in a dry voice.

Raven laughed, eyes twinkling, then leaned into and whispered in her ear, “Because I know too many of your secrets now.”

_Not all of them_ , she thought sadly, even as Raven threw an arm around her shoulders, dragging her towards the enormous cake on their dining room table. Swallowing thickly, Clarke let her friends’ good moods rub off on her, even managing a genuine smile as she dug into a slice, then sipped at her very large glass of champagne.

Later, she wished she had declined the drink, because her head was spinning enough from the way Raven kept touching her. A brush to the arm, a punch to the shoulder, a pinch at the waist, all driving her up the fucking wall.

_Because I know too many of your secrets now._

Maybe she did know everything, and maybe the grazes were deliberate, her way of saying:  _same here, I pick you first too._

Except Clarke had had that glass of champagne, and then a few more, and she couldn’t tell what was in her head and what was real, intentional, purposeful. So she smiled and laughed, trying to enjoy the celebration her friend had arranged for her while ignoring her touches.

She nearly broke when Raven pulled her into a tight hug at the end of the night.

“I’m so proud of you,” she whispered into her hair. “Just promise me one thing.”

Clarke pulled back to look at her, a bit off-balance at her serious tone. “What?”

Drawing in a deep breath, Raven replied, “If, by chance, there is a bomb in a body cavity, and nervous paramedic flees the operating room, leaving the patient bleeding out on the table, do not, I repeat,  _do not_  put your hand in said body cavity.”

Clarke couldn’t contain her laughter, especially when Raven broke into a wide grin. “Really?” She said, raising her eyebrows, but the skeptical effect was ruined by more laughter. “A Grey’s reference?”

“I’m just saying: don’t get blown up. That would suck. For both of us.”

“I promise,” Clarke said, reaching up to tug on Raven’s ponytail, which was draped over her shoulder.

Raven pulled her in for another hug, and Clarke burrowed her face into the crook of her neck, wishing she was brave enough to ask Raven why it would suck if she got blown up, because there was a part of her that believed, if her touches were any indication, that the answer would not be because they were friends.

* * *

**+i. brave princess**

“I’m going to fail.”

“Raven.”

“I am going to fail, and Wick is going to be top of the class, and I’m never going to hear the fucking end of it.”

“Raven.”

“I’ll lose my scholarship.”

“ _Raven._ ”

“Get kicked out of Alpha Rho and have to move in with Finn again. I mean, we hang out now, so it’d be fine, but fuck, it’d also be weird.”

“Raven!”

“ _What._ ”

Clarke spun around in her desk chair, stood up, and halted her pacing roommate. Gripping her shoulders tightly, she walked her back towards her bed, forcing her to sit.

“Breathe,” she counseled as she sat down next to her. The mattress dipped, so she slid towards her a little bit, and their thighs bumped. Clarke’s heart beat a little faster at the contact, like it always did, but at least she didn’t blush anymore. Finals seemed to make everything else less intimidating, she supposed.

Clarke rubbed Raven’s back, which was heaving up and down as she struggled to take the advice. “You’re not going to fail,” she reassured her. “You know this shit backwards and forwards.”

“I couldn’t remember how to set up a basic circuit this morning,” Raven complained.

“But do you know it now?”

“Yes,” she replied petulantly.

Clarke laughed. “Then you’re doing fine. You should take a break.”

Raven groaned. “Can’t. Possible impending failure. So much to learn. Gloating Wick. Homelessness. Finn weirdness.”

“You know you wouldn’t have to move in with Finn.”

“I guess I could live in the lab.”

“You could live with me.”

Raven turned her head, lips parted in surprise. “What?”

Clarke cleared her throat, her stomach calm and chest suddenly devoid of her usual panic. Finals week really was making her brave, apparently. “I’d get a place off-campus with you. I have some savings, and my mom wouldn’t mind contributing, too. She’s been chomping at the bit to help with out with stuff, actually.”

“You’re serious.”

“Yeah.”

“Why?” Raven asked, a bit breathlessly.

Clarke flicked a glance down to Raven’s mouth, which was still parted, before locking gazes with her again. “Because,” she whispered softly, then leaned in and kissed her.

It was awkward, at first, with her moving, coaxing, but Raven frozen. When Clarke threaded a hand through her hair, though, which was down and loose for once, she responded, resting a hand on her leg, which had Clarke’s skin burning at the contact. Soon enough Raven was giving as good as she got, even making Clarke moan as she pushed her back onto the bed, brushing her fingers along her side lightly.

Clarke took her lip between her teeth, biting it teasingly. In retaliation, Raven rolled their bodies closer together, opening her mouth to let Clarke deepen the kiss. With fumbling movements, they slipped hands under shirt hems, exploring each other’s skin, finally breaking away to shuck off their top layers.

“Don’t you have to study?” Raven rasped out, staring down at Clarke with heated eyes, fingers dancing at the bottom edge of her bra.

With a smug grin, Clarke retorted, “Like I said, I’d always pick you first.”

Raven laughed, running her hands down Clarke’s arms until their hands met and interlocked. “Well how can I argue with that?”

“You can’t,” Clarke murmured, then pulled her down for a kiss, one so enthusiastic that it was most definitely decided that neither of them were going to get any studying done that night, or maybe even the whole week.

Finals were overrated, anyways.

**Author's Note:**

> Come find me on tumblr (kay-emm-gee) and yell about multishipping with me!


End file.
